The larger DSi XL (pink) compared to the DSi. Photo courtesy of Nintendo.

If it’s possible to have too much of a good thing in video gaming, we’ll find out early next year.

That’s when gaming giant Nintendo is expected bring to the United States a larger DSi handheld console — one that’s about an inch wider than current systems to accommodate dual screens that also are about an inch wider. The devices go on sale late next month in Japan. We may be able to buy it here in April.

Nintendo announced the “DSi XL” on Thursday (It will be called DSi LL in Japan). Besides the bigger LCD screens, it will sport a stronger battery with up to 17 hours playing time at low settings, a pen-sized stylus for writing more comfortably on the 4.2 inch touch-sensitive display, and preloaded software that includes a memo-making program and a digital dictionary.

Like the current DSi, the larger model will have two built-in cameras — one on the interior hinge and one near the corner of the lid. Nintendo hasn’t said however whether these bigger cameras will be higher quality than the 0.3-megapixel-capable originals.

Also returning in the newer DSi: wi-fi networking and limited online access through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service.

The projected cost of DSi XL is $220, though that likely will be revised as the release date draws closer.

So, why is Nintendo doing this less than a year after bringing out the first DSi? To attract older gamers, the company said. Some of those gamers can’t easily see the action on the current DSi’s 3.2-inch screens, and the market for potential older gamers who don’t already have a DSi or other gaming device is wide open compared to the gadget-saturated demographic of 8- to 18-year-olds.

Game Guy can relate a little to that vision issue. He doubts though that just making DSi bigger for biofcal-wearing boomers represents an improvement.

For starters, DSi XL’s larger screens won’t also have better resolution; they’ll still display the current 256 x 192 standard that makes DSi games appear blocky and lower quality than games shown on the sharper, clearer 480 x 272 resolution of Sony’s PlayStation Portable 4.3-inch single-screen display. A bigger screen will only make that low resolution look even worse.

Furthermore, the DSi XL will weigh about 11 ounces, or nearly a pound (The current DSi weighs about 7.5 ounces). At a time when American consumers expect new technology to become smaller and lighter for the sake of convenience, Nintendo seems to think we’ll go the other way this time.

But the biggest issue is that DSi hasn’t expanded to fill a marketing hole; if anything, it has opened one. Handheld gaming consoles are beginning to run up against such devices as iPhone, which despite its name is actually a pocket-size laptop computer. The DSi does not now answer or make phone calls, make tweets, download and store Web documents or have a variety of applications on inventory.

Nintendo promises to provide more and better things to download for DSi XL through its Connect service, but none will make the DSi XL a smarter, more efficient device.

Which means DSi XL owners will wind up carrying around almost a pound of … not much.